Feeling All August-y?

Time to read: 45 seconds. It's August.

A client asked this week, "what's the deal with August?" She is having difficulty finding solid ground and if she's honest, she wants to sit on a porch and read a book. I'm hearing similar things from many clients this week.

So, what's the deal with August?

After 10 years of working with clients, here are my observations about August:

1. You're in-between which is disconcerting. It's no longer summer, and it's not yet fall. It's hard to know how to be. (If you're curious, check out the concept of liminal space.)
2. The engine is revving and you're not ready to drive off yet. You feel like you'll be ready to go soon. But not yet.
3. The air is filled with anticipation. Back to school. Back to the office? (who knows about that one anymore)
4. Fall is around the corner and there's a lot of uncertainty. Will your 3rd grader like her teacher? Will projects at the office increase? Will your family's schedule take off like a rocket? Will your senior get into college?
5. Add the Delta variant, international and national politics, and ugliness in the news and you have a recipe for stalling.

The good news is that the solution is simple.

Wait.

August will turn into September which becomes October. I don't get to guarantee much in my line of work, and I can guarantee this. When September rolls around, you'll be ready to go.

Happens every year.

Happy August.

#1 Mistake When Making a Change

Time to read: 47 seconds.

There’s a lot of movement these days. Clients getting promoted. People changing companies. Relocations. New jobs. New apartments. When you make a change, you move from one thing to another (duh).

In change, I see people make the same mistake over and over.

You move on too quickly.

In your haste and excitement to get to The New Thing, you forget to close The Old Thing.

The consequences are The Old Thing becomes sticky. It follows you. It clogs your energy. Think of people you hear still complaining about a job, apartment, or relationship they left years ago. Think of a job or relationship that you can’t seem to shake. That’s what sticky looks like.

Leave The Old Thing behind by doing these two simple things:

• Don’t leave before you’re gone. You mentally leave before you are actually gone. Stay present until you actually leave so you can enjoy your final days or feel your sad feelings.
• End well. Say good-bye to the people. Walk around the empty apartment. Share memories. Write notes. Say farewell to your cube. Mark the end with a short ritual or acknowledgement. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. Do be conscious that “this moment is the end.”

When you allow yourself a good ending, you become more open and ready for the new beginning.

Enjoy your New Thing! (And write to tell me all about it. I love your stories.)

3 Reasons to Clean Up Your Messes

Time to read: Less than one minute. Time to clean up your mess? Depends on the size.

Let's just say that the other day, I wasn't my best. I don't know why, but there's something about the vet that pokes my buttons. It's not the actual vet, it's the processes at the vet. It's weird because I'm usually so easy... but I digress. That's not the point.

I became irritated and the poor receptionist who was trying to help me took the brunt. It wasn't my finest hour, and my response was very human. We humans mess up. And when we do, we humans have a responsibility to clean it up.

There are three reasons to clean up your messes - big and small.

1. It's the right thing to do, especially when you've hurt someone. Cleaning up your messes matters for other people.
2. Lingering messes are sticky and the guilt / sadness / justification / defensiveness (choose your poison) sticks to you. Cleaning up your messes matters for you.
3. The energy you put into the world matters so let that energy be honest and true, even when it's hard. Cleaning up your messes matters to our world.

I called the receptionist and apologized. I was nervous. And the 2 minutes it took to take responsibility and be forgiven made all the difference for both of us.

What mess is sticking to you and what can you do today to clean it up?

Email me here if you'd like to consider offering the 90-Minute Return to the Office live event with me and Anne. It's the easiest path to avoiding conflict and messes that need to be cleaned up.

Returning To the Office?

Time to read: 30 seconds.

Many of my clients are returning to the office in some form in the fall. They have mixed feelings. Some are excited. Some are not.

When you’re staring down big, complicated, changes, please know that you don’t have to boil the entire ocean. Instead:

Start anywhere.

And start with just one thing.

You only have to do one thing at a time. Then you’ll do the next thing. And the next. Until the train is back on the track and you’re moving forward smoothly.

That’s it.

Anne and I have been leading a 90-minute live event for corporate teams to help them prepare to return to in-person work effectively and smoothly. If your team is having feelings about returning to the office, we can help.

In the words of a recent participant:

"This workshop helped me prepare to return with intention rather than simply winging it.”

You have important work to do. We will help you be ready.

Email me here if you'd like more information about hosting this workshop for your team.

Summer of Rest, Recovery and Integration

Time to read: 30 seconds.

My fair city at sunset

Hey Rebels!

This is the summer of rest and recovery. Clients are quitting and changing jobs, heading back to the office, moving and experiencing all sorts of change. People are enjoying Fridays off, road tripping, and requesting that we space our sessions out a bit so they can integrate.

Integration. That's an important concept. I use it with clients to mean the time you give yourself to let things sink in. When you've been diving deep on your personal and professional development, sometimes you have to pause to let your learning absorb into your bones.

When you've lived through a global pandemic, political turmoil and social upheaval, you need a little time to integrate. When you give yourself space to integrate, you see what sinks in and sticks over time and set the stage to move forward again.

So, I am going to give you a few weeks of short, easy to digest content to aid your rest, recovery and integration. Today's is simply - consider the idea of integration. What does it mean for you? What do you want to integrate?

Then watch the next few weeks for tips and ideas for rest, recovery and integration.

The free download of The Corporate Rebel's Playbook for Returning to Life (and Work) is still available. It's chock full of info for you and your team. Many people have shared this playbook with their bosses (including my husband). If you love it, please share it.

Lessons From the Pandemic: Part 2

Time to read: 1 minute, 8 seconds

My Covid campsite

I conducted a workshop last week as part of a 2-day virtual offsite to help a team reconnect, recover from a brutal year, and evaluate how they want to return to the office. When I asked people to share what they noticed about life during the pandemic, here's what they said:

"My kids enjoyed having more downtime."

"We didn't run around as much."

"My family wasn't over-scheduled."

"I enjoyed having quiet time in the evening."

As an über extrovert, people are my oxygen. During the pandemic, I had to introvert. I read a lot. Watched hours of TV. Gazed at my fish. Snuggled my dogs. Meditated. I took walks with friends, but the year was party-less, trip-less, and crowd-less.

When we could finally emerge, I was ready to par-ty!

Well, I thought I was ready to par-ty. My first few forays into the crowded world were fun in the moment and resulted in days of sleep and recovery from the noise. The pandemic taught me the value of quiet, downtime, and space alone. When activity was stripped away, the quiet that remained turned out to be great.

In the quiet, families reconnected. You may have discovered new hobbies or reignited your love of reading. Lots of people loved the time to cook at home and eat real meals. Game night replaced running from scheduled activity to scheduled activity.

As you plan your re-entry, consider how you will preserve the quiet you found during the pandemic. (For those of you with young children, the word "quiet" isn't quite right. Maybe a better word is slowing? Calm?)

If you want more strategies for re-entering life and work smoothly and effectively, download your copy of The Corporate Rebel's Playbook for Returning to Life (and Work). It will help you decide what to keep and what to change.

Lessons From the Pandemic: Part 1

Time to read: less than one minute

In the olden days when meetings were moving online, I was facilitating a women's leadership training program for a big company. My group and I were enjoying a panel discussion with company leaders. On the screen, dogs barked, kids walked through, and there was much laughter about wearing sweatpants with a button down shirt.

During Corporate Rebel live events this year, we saw a dinosaur costume, crazy hats, tiaras, dogs, cats, ferrets and all kinds of dining tables, kitchen walls, and bedroom decor.

This year, we became more human to each other at work. Corporate life used to be defined by a separation between the office and home. Sure, you put plants and family photos in your cube. Sure, you have friends at the office. And how many of those people ever saw your dirty laundry draped over a chair or watched your toddler streak across the room during a meeting?

We may be happy to give up the streaking and barking dogs, but let's hang on to how we let ourselves be seen this year. The intimidating VP is less intimidating when her kid asks for homework help during a presentation. Your boss is more approachable when you know he's wearing pjs all day.

Although I wish the solution were PJs for Everyday! it is easy to keep the investment in our humanity at work.

Talk to people. Connect. Tell stories of your everyday messes, successes and failures. Be authentic. Other humans are the most important resource you have. Invest in them.

And maybe consider a pajama day at the office. For old times sake.

Get your free download of The Corporate Rebel's Playbook for Returning to Life (and Work) right here. If you love it, please share it.